The age of the Internet has ushered in a whole new world of e-commerce, and with that has come the inevitable decline of brick-and-mortar stores. With lower prices and added perks, online shopping has siphoned off enormous amounts of customers. But online shopping faces a problem in the form of consumers having to purchase without testing the physical product in person.

Enter Lumoid. Lumoid is a new service that aims to solve that problem, at least for certain products. The concept behind Lumoid is simple: Customers go to Lumoid’s online selection and choose which category they’d like to look at, the current three categories being wearables, drones and photo/video gear. Then they simply pick out a kit, or build their own, and rent it. Different products have different limits, but the wearable kit we tested allowed us to pick five items and test them for two weeks. At the end of those two weeks, you simply pack the items in the box and ship them back to Lumoid.

For those two weeks, customers can try the wearables and use them as much as they want, with the goal being that the customer will find one that they like. If you do find one that you like, you can either purchase it online from Lumoid, or with some devices, simply not send it back and have it charged to your card, with a $25 discount from the regular price for testing it out first. If you choose not to purchase any item, Lumoid will charge you a $25 rental fee, which is an extremely fair price.

Starting at the beginning, I went through Lumoid’s website and selected the wearables I wanted to try. It was an easy and painless process that makes it easy for consumers to sort and select wearables. If you don’t want to handpick, Lumoid has several pre-made kits that you can choose from.

After I placed my order, I received an email the next day informing me that one of the items in my order, the Moto 360, was backordered. There would be a delay of one or maybe two weeks before my order would ship because of it. Lumoid also noted that if I was to replace the Moto 360 with another item, my order would ship without delay.

I chose not to replace the Moto 360, as it was one of the items that I was most keen to try, considering that it is an Android Wear device. I waited a week with no response. The second week then went by with radio silence. I started to get a bit worried, but didn’t take any action yet. On the eve of the third week, I emailed Lumoid and let them know that my order hadn’t shipped. The customer service was fantastic. I got an immediate reply, apologizing profusely and informing me that they were going to overnight my order so that it would arrive the next day.

Sure enough, the Lumoid box showed up the next day. It’s small, neat and surprisingly elegant. A thank-you note is included in the box, as well as a prepaid return label, a checklist of the box contents and a note that detailed the return date and instructions.

All of the wearables were wrapped in tissue paper and each came in a small mesh bag with a drawstring. Open up a bag and you’ll find the wearable, corresponding charging equipment, a manual and a small guide from Lumoid on how to set up and pair the wearable to your phone.

My wearable kit consisted of the Moto X (1st gen), ASUS Zenwatch (1st gen), Pebble Time, Withings Activitè Pop and the Jawbone UP3. All of the devices were in very good condition, though a couple had very minor scratches, likely from previous testing. Nonetheless, it was an exceptionally well-done delivery and execution that made it easy to set up and test each device.

Getting a chance to test out wearables is a fantastic opportunity. Going at it from a customer standpoint, I learned much more about wearables and ultimately found that I’m not a fan of them. Is that a problem? Not at all. Having had the chance to try them out allowed me the opportunity to discover that before I dropped a significant amount of money purchasing one.

That fact is what makes Lumoid a fantastic service. It serves its purpose whether or not you choose to purchase a product. If you do test a few out and decide to purchase one that you like, that’s great! You’ve just made a purchase that you know will bring you satisfaction because you’ve tested the product and liked it. If you test them out and find that you’re not a fan, that’s just as good! You’ve made yourself happier by finding out your preference rather than purchasing without knowing. It’s a win-win in both cases.

Lumoid has also nailed down the simplicity aspect, which makes it easy for anyone to give it a go. Once you’re finished testing the wearables, you simply seal up the box, apply the prepaid shipping label and drop it into your nearest FedEx drop box, making it a seamless and simple process.

Conclusion

The team behind Lumoid has done a great job of creating a service that fills a gap in the market. If you’re interested in learning a little more about wearables or maybe you’re trying to decide between a couple of different devices, give Lumoid a shot. It’s a painless process that offers big benefits at a low price.

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A nerd at heart, Nick is an average person who has a passion for all things electronic. When not spending his time writing about the latest gadgets, Nick enjoys reading, dabbling in photography, and experimenting with anything and everything coffee. Should you wish to know more about him, you can follow him on Twitter @Zricon15.